BAR EEAME HIVES. 17 



stopping of the entrance-way be desired the doors may be remoTed, and 

 pat in, the right on the left, and the left on the right, when they will 

 meet, as their studs will be on their outer instead of their proximate 

 •ends. In the height of the honey harvest, or near swarming time, 

 the full length of the mouth may be obtained by simply sliding the 

 shutters to the end of the alighting board, while during the summer 

 the fanners will be enabled to pursue their labours in the shade. The 

 bottom board is so contrived that it can be removed without disturb, 

 ing the bees, as it slides upon two runners seen beneath it in Fig. 16. 

 Blocks I and K (Fig. 17) fitted in between these runners and bottom 

 board press it against the hive body and hold it in position. The legs 

 are fastened to the hive proper, so that it carries its own stand. This 

 plan is, in some respects, convenient. During the winter the board 

 may be easily cleaned and returned without risk of disturbing the 

 cluster ; but the fixed legs present to the beginner some difficulty in in- 

 troducing the swarm. So that for the general community of bee keepers 

 we are not sure that the independent stand is not to be preferred. Either 

 form can be supplied by Mr. Lee as desired. When the bottom board is 

 slipped into position it is stopped by a back piece, H, Fig. 17. The 

 super cover, the upper part of Fig. 16, or L M N O, Fig. 17, is hinged, 

 and so contrived by the aid of a chain that it can only open until its 

 lines, horizontal when in situ, become perpendicular, and vice versA. The 

 advantage this supplies beyond the ordinary loose case is considerable. 

 It is often inconvenient to find suitable standing for the latter during 

 manipulation, while this arrangement provides the bee master with a 

 table, often of great service when the hive is open, upon which he can 

 place his smoker, syrup, knife, &o., during his operations. It, moreover, 

 carries withiu it a slate with an attached pencil, so that immediate 

 entry may be made of any noteworthy point. These jottings, compiled 

 and studied, form no inconsiderable means of iucreasing the proprietor's 

 experience. The other points of the exterior demand little in the way of 

 explanation. 'The legs splay, so as to increase the base and give more 

 secure standing, while the roof, with its ample eaves, precludes the 

 possibility of the entrance of rain in any weather. 



The walls of the hive are double, as may be seen by reference to 

 Pig. 17, and have between them a space containing dead air, shown by 

 the black broad lines. The sides are kept at their proper relative 

 ■distances by blocks running above and below the air space. As heat is 

 conducted by air with extreme slowness, these means prevent the escape 

 of that generated by the bees during rigorous weather, while they also 

 •exclude the ardour of the sun's rays during summer. "We are commonly 

 told that straw hives are much drier than wooden ones in winter, and so 

 it is argued straw is the better material for hive building, the additional 

 jjroof of whicli is supposed to be found in the dampness of the wooden 



